We are back in the good ol’ USA just in time for Labor Day. The overnight flight in economy followed by a delayed connection in Houston wasn’t the most fun way to come home but we’re happy to be back nonetheless!
Our last two days in Rio were really defined by the weather: we had the continued gloom of overcast skies and scattered rain on Saturday but a beautiful sunny day on Sunday. We’d saved the two big remaining sightseeing trips for these days so we were (obviously) hoping for great weather; unfortunately Mother Nature did not cooperate...
We visited Christ the Redeemer on Saturday. We’d been hoping all day that the clouds would clear up a little bit, but by late afternoon we’d accepted the fact that we weren’t going to get much of a view. As we were boarding the train up the mountain the conductors even warned us that we couldn’t see anything but we were out of time - either we could go up now with limited visibility or skip it.
Well they weren’t kidding. We literally ascended into a cloud - looking out onto Rio was as impressive as looking at a grey wall.
“I think I see something! Oh wait, nope.”
It cleared enough for us to get a shot of “the man,” but only briefly.
Despite the clouds it was still a very impressive sight - the statue is HUGE!
With no sign of the clouds clearing and this Wonder of the World crossed off our bucket list, we didn’t linger for too long in Tijuca Forest National Park (where the statue is located). Many of the other tourists up there had the same idea though - the wait for the train took over an hour. By the time we finally got down to street-level we were cold, tired and ready for a warm dinner. We’d been saving Porcao for our last meal in Rio so the timing worked out perfectly.
Porcao is a fixed-price, all-you-can-eat steakhouse that is known for its variety, quantity and quality of meats served during dinner. There is a salad bar that you can visit as often as you’d like but the main attraction is all the waiters coming by with different meats on skewers to slice them directly onto your plate. Needless to say, we ate a lot!
Filet, chicken, sausage and lamb - definitely not vegetarian friendly!
We woke up early Sunday to wonderfully clear skies and decided to go for an early walk on Ipanema beach to watch the sunrise. In addition to the great views we were also entertained by some ladies who hadn’t finished partying from Saturday night - let’s just say the Jersey Shore isn’t the only place you can find drunk idiots!
Looking out at the ocean from Ipanema.
The famous Dois Irmaos (Two Brothers) peaks.
We almost had the whole beach to ourselves.
We ended our walk at Starbucks (Sarah learned how to say iced coffee in Portuguese!) before going back to our hotel to pack up. Once we were ready to go we left our bags with Pedro, the host at Casa Cool Beans, and headed over to Sugarloaf Mountain. In my opinion, this looks less like a mountain than a series of huge, cliff-like rocks sticking out of the water - but that didn’t anyone from building a cable car to get to the top (cable car rides were first available in 1912!)
We’d heard some of the best views of the city can be seen from the top so we were really glad the weather finally cooperated. When we got to the top (there are two “levels” - one cable car takes you half way there, the second takes you all the way up) we were treated to probably our best view of the entire two months in South America. If you are ever in Rio, this is a must-do on a clear day!
View of the beach, the bay and one of Rio's airports from Morro da Urca (the first stop in the cable car).
Another beach and a lot of sail boats.
The second cable car up to the top.
The reward for making the trip all the way up: a breathtaking view of Rio!
Proof that Sarah wasn’t too scared to ride the cable car!
Looking across the bay at Icari.
We lingered at Sugarloaf for a couple hours then took a leisurely walk back to Ipanema by way of Copacabana. Not a bad way to spend a beautiful afternoon.
Rio has been an amazing stop on our trip and is definitely worth the hassle of getting a Brazilian visa. We’ll be getting settled in the US for a few days before embarking on our two-month road trip across the country - we’re both looking forward to kicking it off properly with two weddings this weekend!